August 1, 2018

950 years ago
1068

Born on this date
Taizu. Emperor of China, 1115-1123. Taizu, born Aguda, was the founder and first Emperor of the Jin dynasty. He died on September 19, 1123 at the age of 55, and was succeeded by his younger brother Taizong.

520 years ago
1498

Exploration
On his third voyage to the Western Hemisphere, Christopher Columbus became the first European to visit what is now Venezuela.

220 years ago
1798

War
The Battle of the Nile (Battle of Aboukir Bay) began when a British fleet engaged the French Revolutionary Navy fleet in an unusual night action.

180 years ago
1838

Society
Non-labourer slaves in most of the British Empire were emancipated.

125 years ago
1893

Literature
The Adventure of the Resident Patient by A. Conan Doyle, ninth in a series of short stories published in book form in 1894 as The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes, was published in the August 1893 issue of The Strand Magazine.

Born on this date
Alexander. King of Greece, 1917-1920. Alexander, the second son of King Constantine I, was installed as a puppet king after King Constantine and Alexander's elder brother Crown Prince George were forced into exile by the Triple Entente powers and the followers of Prime Minister Eleftherios Venizelos. King Alexander supported Greece's war against the Central Powers in World War I, but his marriage to a commoner caused a scandal. He died of sepsis on October 25, 1920 at the age of 27, several weeks after being bitten by a monkey. Constantine I was then returned to the throne.

Technology
Henry Perky patented shredded wheat.

120 years ago
1898

Born on this date
Morris Stoloff. U.S. musician and composer. Mr. Stoloff was a violin prodigy who performed as a feature soloist before joining the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra at the age of 17. He worked as concertmaster of Paramount Pictures and then as musical director for Columbia Pictures (1936-1962). Mr. Stoloff often took partial credit for scores when working with a composer, and was nominated for 17 Academy Awards, winning for Cover Girl (1944); The Jolson Story (1946); and Song Without End (1960). He's perhaps best known for the single Moonglow and Theme from Picnic, which reached #1 on the Billboard Disc Jockey chart for three weeks in 1956. Mr. Stoloff left Columbia Pictures to become the musical director at Reprise Records. He died on April 16, 1980 at the age of 81.

110 years ago
1908

Disasters
Fire destroyed the coal mining town of Fernie, British Columbia; the fire then burned up the Elk River valley, over Hosmer and up Michel Creek to Michel, B.C.

100 years ago
1918

Born on this date
T.J. Jemison. U.S. clergyman. Theodore Judson Jemison was president of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc.--the largest Negro church organization in the country from 1982-1994. He was known as a civil rights activist, and organized the first boycott of public transportation, in Baton Rouge Louisiana in 1953. Rev. Jemison died on November 15, 2013 at the age of 95.

90 years ago
1928

Diplomacy
Honduras rejected the U.S.A.'s offer to submit the Honduran boundary dispute with Guatemala to the Central American Tribunal.

Aviation
Captain Frank Courtney and three companions left the Azores for Newfoundland, but their plane caught fire and they dropped into the sea, where they were rescued by the steamer Minnewaska. They arrived in New York City on August 6.

Disasters
A 500-ton lifting crane fell at Welland Ship Canal Works in Thorold, Ontario, killing 8 men and inuring 30.

Olympics
Percy Williams of Canada won the gold medal in the men's 200-metre sprint in the Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, two days after winning the 100-metre event.

80 years ago
1938

Died on this date
John Aasen, 48. U.S. actor. Mr. Aasen was a 7'2" sideshow performer who appeared in 14 movies, including Why Worry? (1923); Should Married Men Go Home? (1928); and Bengal Tiger (1936). He died from pneumonia.

Boxing
Johnny Paychek (21-3-1) knocked out Al Globe (15-11-5) at 2:15 of the 5th round of their heavyweight bout at Riverview Park in Des Moines, Iowa.

75 years ago
1943

Died on this date
Lin Sen, 79. Chairman (President) of the National Government of China, 1931-1943. Lin Sen was a member of the Kuomintang, and was largely a figurehead in office, while Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek exercised the actual power. Lin Sen died several months after suffering a stroke.

Don Deacon, 30 or 31. Canadian hockey player. Mr. Deacon, a native of Regina, played left wing with various senior, minor league, and military teams from 1932-43. He played with the Detroit Red Wings from 1936-37 and 1938-40, scoring 6 goals and 4 assists in 30 regular season games and 2 goals and 1 assist in 2 playoff games. Mr. Deacon was based in Calgary with the Canadian Army in 1942-43, and scored 52 points on 21 goals and 31 assists in 23 regular games and 4 goals and 2 assists in 3 Allan Cup playoff games with the Currie base team. While on leave in Vancouver, he was at a party at a friend's home when he fell to his death from a balcony, which suggests that he was most likely drunk.

Lydia Litvyak, 22. U.S.S.R. military aviatrix. Senior Lieutenant Litvyak served in the Soviet Air Force during World War II and was the first female fighter pilot to down an enemy aircraft, recording five solo kills before being fatally shot down near Orel during the Battle of Kursk, 17 days before her 23rd birthday.

War
The Japanese government granted independence to Burma, which then declared war on the U.S.A. and U.K. In Operation Tidal Wave, more than 175 U.S. Liberators dropped 300 tons of bombs on the Ploesti oil refineries in Romania, with the loss of 20 bombers; it was the second raid on the refineries, which produced 90% of the German Luftwaffe's gasoline. U.S. troops took Mistretta, Sicily, capturing 10,000 prisoners.

Diplomacy
China severed relations with the Vichy French regime.

Protest
Race-related rioting erupted in New York City's Harlem section, resulting in several deaths.

Rioting died down in northern Italy as Italians began evacuation from cities to escape Allied air raids.

Technology
Consolidated-Vultee Aircraft Corporation revealed a system that de-iced planes by circulating heated air through the motor exhaust pipes.

70 years ago
1948

Disasters
A Latecoere 631 flying boat with 52 passengers disappeared over the Atlantic Ocean and was presumed to have crashed.

60 years ago
1958

Hit parade
#1 single in the U.K. (New Musical Express): All I Have to Do is Dream--The Everly Brothers (5th week at #1)

Space
The U.S. Air Force's Man in Space Soonest program was cancelled, just five weeks after the nine men selected to be astronauts were named. The program was soon replaced by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's Project Mercury.

Defense
The United States detonated a missile-borne nuclear device in the air over its Johnson island test site in the Pacific Ocean as part of the current test series.

World events
91 South African opponents of apartheid went on trial in Pretoria on charges of high treason in an alleged conspiracy to overthrow the government.

Politics and government
The Japanese Communist Party's national convention in Tokyo re-elected Sanzo Nozaka as party chairman and named Kenji Miyamoto as secretary-general.

Football
CFL
Pre-season
Saskatchewan (0-1) 28 @ Ottawa (1-0) 29
Hamilton (0-1) 7 @ British Columbia (1-1) 14

Bobby Judd, George Brancato, Bob Simpson, and Ed Petrarca scored touchdowns for the Rough Riders as they edged the Roughriders before 10,000 fans at Lansdowne Park. Mr. Petrarca's touchdown culminated a 70-yard drive led by rookie quarterback Russ Jackson, whose 42-yard rush was the key play of the drive. Jack Hill, Mike Hagler, Ron Adam, and Bob McKeiver scored Saskatchewan TDs. Mr. McKeiver's touchdown came with 3:30 remaining in the game, but Mr. Hill missed the convert that would have tied the score.

Bill Britton scored a touchdown in the 1st quarter and By Bailey added a TD in the 2nd quarter as the Lions defeated the defending Grey Cup champion Tiger-Cats at Empire Stadium in Vancouver. Fran Rogel scored the Hamilton touchdown in the 1st quarter.

50 years ago
1968

Music
The Beatles completed recording the song Hey Jude at Trident Studios in London.

War
The U.S. command in Vietnam announced that the number of American troops in South Vietnam had risen to 541,000.

Asiatica
Hassanal Bolkiah was crowned as Sultan of Brunei.

Politics and government
Kristjan Eldjarn, who had been elected on June 30, was inaugurated into a four-year term as President of Iceland.

Economics and finance
The Royal Canadian Mint began replacing silver with nickel in Canadian coinage, except for commemorative items and the silver dollar.

U.S. President Lyndon Johnson signed a housing act that authorized a $5-billion building program for low-income families.

Disasters
Four days of eruption of the Mount Arenal volcano in Cost Rica resulted in 78 deaths, with more than 100 injured and many missing.

Football
CFL
Hamilton (0-1) 13 @ Ottawa (1-0) 53

Russ Jackson directed an effective attack at quarterback for the Rough Riders as they routed the defending Grey Cup champion Tiger-Cats at Lansdowne Park, spoiling Joe Restic's regular season debut as Hamilton's head coach. Vic Washington played his first CFL game for the Rough Riders and returned a kickoff 104 yards for a touchdown. It was the first game in an Ottawa uniform for former Calgary Stampeders' star fullback Lovell Coleman, and he caught a pass from Mr. Jackson for a 54-yard gain.

40 years ago
1978

Music
The Eagles, with opening acts Pablo Cruise and the Steve Miller Band, performed before 65,000 fans at Metropolitan Stadium in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Defense
The U.S. House of Representatives voted to allow President Jimmy Carter to end the embargo on the sale of arms to Turkey.

Crime
A U.S. federal grand jury in Washington indicted General Juan Manuel Contreras Sepulveda, former head of Chile's secret police, and six others for the 1976 assassination in Washington of former Chilean Foreign Minister Orlando Letelier and his American colleague Ronni Moffit.

Football
CFL
Hamilton (1-2-1) 22 @ British Columbia (1-1-2) 22
Ottawa (2-1) 24 @ Edmonton (3-1) 23

Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip were among the 24,397 in attendance at Clarke Stadium to see the Rough Riders jump out to an early 17-0 lead and hold on to edge the Eskimos. Rookie Warren Moon played most of the game at quarterback for the Eskimos and got Edmonton on the scoreboard with his first Canadian Football League touchdown in the 2nd quarter. Dave Cutler missed the convert, ending a then-record streak of 137 consecutive converts going back to 1974. His miss proved to be the margin of victory. Tom Clements completed a 23-yard touchdown pass to Peter Stenerson with 11:28 remaining in the game to put the Rough Riders ahead to stay.

Jimmy Jones completed a 5-yard touchdown pass to John Kinch and a 2-point convert pass to Lawrie Skolrood with 2:52 remaining in the game to give the Tiger-Cats their tie with the Lions before 23,662 fans at Empire Stadium in Vancouver. Hamilton's Ken Clark punted from the B.C. 39-yard on the last play of the game, but B.C.'s Lui Passaglia goaded the Tiger-Cats into a no-yards penalty in the B.C. end zone, preventing a game-winning single.

Baseball
Bob Horner batted 3 for 5 with a home run, double, 4 runs, and 4 runs batted in, while Barry Bonnell batted 4 for 5 with a homer, double, 3 runs, and 3 RBIs to help the Atlanta Braves rout the Cincinnati Reds 16-4 before 31,159 fans at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. Cincinnati third baseman Pete Rose was 0 for 4 with a base on balls, and struck out to end the game, ending his hitting streak at 44 games, tied for the National League record with Willie Keeler of the Baltimore Orioles in 1897.



Andre Dawson's 2-run home run climaxed a 4-run 2nd inning as the Montreal Expos held on to defeat the Pittsburgh Pirates 4-3 before 21,287 fans at Olympic Stadium in Montreal. The Pirates scored all their runs in the 4th inning against winning pitcher Steve Rogers.

Derrel Thomas singled home Bill Almon with 1 out in the bottom of the 9th inning to give the San Diego Padres a 1-0 win over the Los Angeles Dodgers before 40,846 fans at San Diego Stadium. Randy Jones pitched a 7-hit shutout to win the pitchers' duel over Burt Hooton.

Reggie Jackson batted 2 for 2 with a home run, double, 2 bases on balls, and 3 runs to help the New York Yankees beat the Texas Rangers 8-1 before 18,485 fans at Yankee Stadium. Catfish Hunter, who had failed to retire a batter in his most recent start, allowed only 3 hits in pitching 8 scoreless innings to get the win. Bobby Bonds homered off Sparky Lyle with 1 out in the top of the 9th to break up the shutout.

Rick Manning led off the bottom of the 7th inning with a double and scored on a 2-out single by Buddy Bell to break a 1-1 tie as the Cleveland Indians edged the Kansas City Royals 2-1 before 8,236 fans at Cleveland Stadium.

Rick Langford pitched a 3-hitter and struck out 11 batters to win the pitchers' duel over Nolan Ryan as the Oakland Athletics edged the California Angels 1-0 before 19,485 fans at Anaheim Stadium. Miguel Dilone singled home Mario Guerrero with 2 out in the top of the 2nd inning for the game's only run. Mr. Ryan pitched a 6-hit complete game, with 8 strikeouts and 7 bases on balls.

30 years ago
1988

Hit parade
#1 single in Australia (Australian Music Report): Age of Reason--John Farnham

On the radio
Conservative commentator Rush Limbaugh began broadcasting his nationally syndicated radio program across the United States.

Died on this date
Florence Eldridge, 86. U.S. actress. Miss Eldridge was a character actress who appeared in 23 movies and television programs from 1923-1978, but was better known as a stage actress. She appeared in more than 20 Broadway plays in a career spanning almost 40 years, and was nominated for a Tony Award for her starring performance in Long Day's Journey Into Night (1956), which co-starred her husband Fredric March, who won a Tony Award for his performance.

War
A British soldier was killed and nine injured when a bomb planted by the provisional Irish Republican Army exploded at the Inglis Barracks in London.

25 years ago
1993

Hit parade
#1 single in New Zealand: (I Can't Help) Falling in Love with You--UB40 (8th week at #1)

#1 single in Austria (Ö3): (I Can't Help) Falling in Love with You--UB40 (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Switzerland: Mr. Vain--Culture Beat (3rd week at #1)

#1 single in Ireland (IRMA): What's Up?--4 Non Blondes (3rd week at #1)

Disasters
The Great Mississippi and Missouri Rivers Flood of 1993 came to a peak.

20 years ago
1998

Died on this date
Eva Bartok, 71. Hungarian-born U.K. actress. Miss Bartok, born Éva Ivanovics, appeared in movies from the late 1940s through the mid-1960s, including The Crimson Pirate (1952) and Ten Thousand Bedrooms (1957).

Academia
Muslim Medics was founded as one of the largest student-led societies in Imperial College London, providing both academic and wellbeing support to medical students of all backgrounds.

10 years ago
2008

Transportation
The Beijing–Tianjin Intercity Railway began operation as the fastest commuter rail system in the world.

Disasters
11 mountaineers from international expeditions died on K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth, in the worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering.

Football
CFL
Winnipeg (1-5) 11 @ Toronto (3-3) 19